Study highlights flaws in Paterson’s school guidance program

PATERSON – About 40 percent of Paterson’s ninth-graders say they never met their guidance counselors. At one city elementary school, a single guidance counselor must cover 725 students. And an expert said the situation is even worse for three separate grammar schools that share one counselor for their combined enrollment of 700.

Those were some of the findings from a recent study of Paterson Public Schools’ guidance program, an evaluation conducted by a consulting company headed by former commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education.

The former commissioner, William Librera, gave a 100-minute presentation at last week’s Board of Education workshop meeting that depicted a guidance program undermined by what he called “weak systems” and imbalances in the way staff and services are distributed.

“People are working hard, but not necessarily well,” Librera said. “That’s not because they choose not to be working well.”

Librera said he has provided the district with 24 recommendations for improving Paterson’s guidance program, but he did not outline them during his presentation. Schools superintendent Donnie Evans has declined to make those recommendations public until he convenes a meeting to discuss possible solutions, said district spokeswoman, Terry Corallo.

During his outline, Librera highlighted an issue that often has been the target of complaints by Paterson teachers – the frequency of the tests the district gives as part of its system for evaluating its programs. “I would talk about all the time that kids are out of classes for testing,” Librera said. “Is that really what we should be doing?”
Librera praised the individual tests and programs. But he added, “More of this stuff sometimes gets in the way.”

Librera seemed particularly disturbed by a survey he and his staff did that found 99 out of 250 ninth-graders said they had not seen their guidance counselors. That survey contrasted with statistics that showed Paterson’s ratio of counselors to students at the high school level was significantly better than the national average.

But Librera said most of those counselors focus on students in the 11th and 12th grades. He warned, “Research shows that the wheels come off for kids in the ninth grade.”
Many Paterson students entering high school said they wanted to attend college, but the numbers of city graduates who eventually continue their educations was far lower, Librera said. He suggested that the lack of guidance in the early high school years was a factor in that disparity.

“All it takes is for kids to have some difficulties in the ninth and 10th grades for them to think they can no longer do that,” he said of college.
Librera said he was mindful of the financial limitations facing Paterson school officials. He said he tried to identify ways the district could improve its guidance program without trying to spend extra money.

At the elementary school level, he suggested the district look for ways to better balance its resources. He highlighted cases in which one counselor is responsible for 700 or more youths.

“Those numbers are hard to deal with, Librera said.

Too often, the only counseling elementary school staff members perform is helping students decided which high schools to apply to as part of the district’s school choice program, he said. Students need more substantive counseling, he added.

“You can’t counsel unless you have some time with them individually,” Librera said.